TTC while on a hiking holiday?

Hi all, DH and I have been holding off TTC as we are travelling to South America over Dec/Jan and doing the Inca Trail and going hiking in Patagonia. At this stage according to my chart I will be ovulating about a week and a half into our trip while we are on the Inca Trail and the night after the hike ends in Cusco. Having never been at very high altitude (highest we’ve been is the Grand Canyon. We were ok though, just felt a bit less fit than usual when jogging around the rim) we were going to play it by ear but if we felt ok would have a crack at TTC there. We would still have two and a half weeks of our trip to go which would involve some all day hikes in Patagonia.

Is this a bad idea? I assumed that (should I be fortunate enough to conceive) in the first two weeks of pregnancy I wouldn’t really have any symptoms yet or have to be concerned about complications. Is this correct? Would it be unwise to get pregnant while in remote areas doing all day hikes? For what it’s worth I am a fit person who is used to pushing myself hard in the gym daily. I’m impatient to get started but I’ll put it off a month if need be.

Lollybags: I would go for it! You’d probably be able to find out if you were pregnant or not towards the end of your trip. I was on a ski trip in Colorado (also at high altitude, and coming from Alaska I wasn’t acclimated) after I ovulated and thought I was probably pregnant. It was totally fine. The only symptom I had that early was bloating. Good luck!

I’ve been to Peru and hiked the Inca trail… honestly, I would have been too tired to have sex any night on the trail, plus add in the the not showering aspect, and I definitely wouldn’t have wanted to!

You wouldn’t find out you were pregnant until 2 weeks after you ovulate (so the very end of your trip), and most people don’t have symptoms until they are 6 weeks pregnant (or 4 weeks after you ovulate), so I wouldn’t worry about it, and go ahead and start TTC if you feel up for it!

I doubt you will feel any symptoms if you did get pregnant, so why not. Just a heads up though, as

CityBearBride: said, hiking at that elevation is EXHAUSTING!!! I live at 7200 feet at home and am really fit, and Peru still kicked my ass. You also just feel weak and nauseous at least some of the time, which isn’t so sexy. But hey, if you’re up to it, I’d go for it.

Lollybags: I hiked the trail (loved it!) But it kicked my butt. And we were in tents right next to the rest of our group. No hanky panky then! (One of our group was a loud snorer – everyone heard him all night, every night.)

Lollybags: My DH and I hiked the Inca trail, and thought about it, but honestly, you’re so tired after hiking 10 – 12 hours every day, and there is zero privacy since all the tents are side by side. It’s also not very comfortable on the tiny little mats.

And, I felt dizzy quite a bit from the altitude, not sexy at all.

Like PP’s said though, perhaps after a nice long shower in Cuzco, you’ll be ready for some baby making!

Thanks all! For everyone who has done the trail thanks for sharing your experiences! I definitely was not thinking we would feel sexy at all up there so if we did do it it would purely be to quickly get the job done while I’m ovulating but we’ll have to play it by ear. I don’t want to make DH exert himself to much at altititude and risk getting sick, lol. Hopefully my dates get pushed out a bit and we’ll be in cusco and buenos aires instead to do the deed there!